Since the bicentennial of Mozart's death in 1991, the principal concern of much Mozart research has been to situate the composer and his music in increasingly well informed biographical, historical, critical and analytical contexts. The contributors to Mozart Studies share this desire to paint ever-more rounded, focused and sensitive pictures of the composer by drawing upon wide-ranging historical materials and critical tools, and to project scholarly understandings considerably beyond the narrow frames of reference that traditionally characterised Mozart research. While chapters are grouped according to the principal areas and topics covered, it is intended that other thematic links between chapters will also emerge, drawing scholars' attention to areas primed for future investigation. In the best traditions of Mozart research, it is hoped that these essays will collectively affirm the vitality of Mozart scholarship and the significant role that this scholarship continues to play in defining and re-defining musicological priorities.

Simon P. Keefe is Professor and Head of Music at City University London。